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Friday, 13 July 2012

Piccadilly YA Book Group

Hello everyone, marvellous Fridays to you all!

This week saw the first meeting of a brand new book club, for grown-ups that love reading Teen and YA books. We met at Waterstones Piccadilly, and the plan is to meet on the second Wednesday of every month and discuss a couple of books. If you would like to be on the mailing list for this book club, then please get in touch with me via the blog and I shall add you. The more the merrier!

I've decided to support the YA Book Club via my blog, so that even if you can't come you can keep track of the books we're reading, perhaps read along with us and add your thoughts and comments.

So in that spirit, you have just under one month to read the following two books, linked by their themes of racism, black history and general intense-ness. Please find details of the books below, along with their blurbs.

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

Published by Anderson Press

Zimbabwe, 1980s

The fighting has stopped, independence has been won and Robert Mugabe has come to power offering hope, land and freedom to black Africans. It is the end of the old way and the start of a promising new era.

For Robert Jacklin, it's all new: new continent, new country, new school. And very quickly he is forced to understand a new way of thinking, because for some of his classmates the sound of guns is still loud, and their battles rage on... white boys who want their old country back, not this new black African government. Boys like Ivan. Clever, cunning Ivan. For him, there is still one last battle to fight, and he's taking it right to the very top.

In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One. I am alive. Two. There is no two. Trapped beneath the rubble of the Haitian earthquake of 2012, a teenage boy is terrified, desperate and alone. A child of the slums, Shorty has been drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule his broken city, a world that turns dreams into dust and boys into killers. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that burns inside him, a flame that fires his resolve to find the twin sister stolen from him seven years ago. In the darkness the line between the present and the past begins to blur and, as Shorty fights for life, his struggle becomes part of a two-hundred-year-old story - a story of courage and betrayal, of freedom and of hope. For Shorty may not be quite as alone as he believes. Sometimes, on the other of darkness, there is only death...And sometimes there is light.

1 comment:

Have you tried 'Now is the time for running' by Michael Williams? AWESOME book, it'll leave you sitting afterwards feeling like you need to take a breather. REALLY intense.

It's set in Zimbabwe and is based on events that happened in South Africa. When Deo's entire town is murdered in Zimbabwe, he and his older brother Innocent try to flee Zimbabwe to get to safety. Innocent is a really resonant character as despite being the older brother, an accident at birth means his younger brother Deo is essentially his guardian.

I don't want to say much more without in case I give anything away. It's based on events that actually happened and is a good one for boys because of the links to football (sorry, stereotyping I know!).

Even if not for this meeting, it's worth finding for another time - it's not one you'll say you enjoyed, but it'll be one you're glad you read. Anyway, I was!

About Me

Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm an actual proper writer person, but don't freak out if you're on a online book retailer and nothing comes up when you search for my name. My first novel, Othergirl, will be coming out in 2015 with Andersen Press. Until then, you can read about my life and general musings right here!